I still remember February 2025 like it was a beautiful, chaotic traffic jam. Every time I opened my console or PC, another massive game was demanding my attention, and somewhere in the middle of that pile-up was Avowed, Obsidian’s fantasy RPG, trying to look cool while Civilization 7 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 were already throwing elbows. Was I worried? A little. Was Avowed game director Carrie Patel worried? Apparently not. And now, sitting here in 2026, with the dust settled and my backlog still quietly sobbing in the corner, I can say she had a point.
February 2025 Was a Monster, Not a Month
Let’s be honest: February 2025 did not care about your free time. It was the kind of release schedule that makes you want to quit your job, move into a cave, and negotiate a peace treaty with your loved ones. Here’s the damage:
| Date | Game |
|---|---|
| February 11 | Civilization 7 |
| February 11 | Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 |
| February 14 | Assassin’s Creed Shadows |
| February 18 | Avowed |
| February 21 | Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii |
| February 28 | Monster Hunter Wilds |
Look at that table. It’s not a release calendar. It’s a boss rush. Civilization 7 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 dropped on the same day, because apparently someone at the scheduling office fed on human tears. Then Assassin’s Creed Shadows arrived two days before Valentine’s Day, which is a great way to test your relationship. Avowed landed on February 18, right between assassins and pirates. And Monster Hunter Wilds closed the month like a giant dragon saying, ‘You thought you were done? Cute.’
Avowed had originally been planned for 2024. It got delayed into February 2025, but reportedly not because of technical problems or because the game needed more development time. The delay was about giving it more room to breathe on Game Pass. That makes sense when you remember that Avowed is a day one Xbox Game Pass title. In late 2024, Game Pass was already stuffed with huge day one games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, STALKER 2, and soon Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Delaying Avowed was logical. The only problem? February 2025 turned out to be a crowded bus, and Avowed still had to find a seat.
Carrie Patel’s Calm Was Almost Suspicious
In an interview with Games Radar, Avowed director Carrie Patel acknowledged the busy month but didn’t seem bothered. She said, 'The wonderful thing about the modern age, as a gamer, is you've always got great new stuff coming out. I don't think you're ever going to find a window where absolutely nothing is coming out and you're going to be the only one out for a month. But we're very confident that Avowed is going to stand on its own.'
Was that just developer confidence, or was it the calm of someone who knew something we didn’t? In 2026, looking back, I think it was a bit of both. No release window is ever truly empty. If you wait for a quiet month, you’ll be waiting until the heat death of the universe. There will always be a surprise indie darling, a shadow-dropped remaster, or a 200-hour RPG that decides to launch on the same Tuesday as you. The question isn’t whether the calendar is crowded. The question is whether your game has a reason to be remembered.
Avowed had one big advantage: Xbox Game Pass. As a day one Game Pass title, it had a built-in playerbase. People didn’t have to choose between Avowed and groceries. They could just download it, give it a shot, and fall in love if the word of mouth was good. That’s a huge deal in a month like February 2025. I know plenty of people who would never have bought Avowed at full price during that insane week, but they absolutely clicked install because it was sitting right there on Game Pass. I was one of them. And guess what? I’m glad I did.
My Personal February 2025 Survival Strategy
I treated that month like an RPG inventory problem. I had limited space, limited time, and way too many legendary items. So I made choices.
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🧠 I accepted that I could not finish everything.
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🎮 I prioritized games by mood, not by release date.
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🛌 I sacrificed sleep, then apologized to my body.
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🐉 I let Monster Hunter Wilds wait until March, because I value my sanity.
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⚔️ I played Avowed in between everything else, and it became my comfort game.
I enjoyed what I played of Avowed back then, and the full release on February 18 gave me even more to love. The exploration, the combat, the weird fantasy vibes, the companions who occasionally judged my decisions—it all clicked for me. Was it the only game I played that month? No. Was it the one I kept thinking about when I wasn’t playing? Often, yes. That’s the thing about a crowded release window: you don’t need to be the only game. You just need to be the one someone wants to return to.
The January 2025 Argument
Some people have argued that Avowed should have launched in January 2025 instead. January was significantly less busy, and it might have given the game a clearer runway. On paper, that makes sense. In practice, I’m not so sure. Game Pass schedules are complicated. Marketing beats are complicated. Sometimes a delay is not about avoiding competition; it’s about hitting the right service window, the right team readiness, and the right moment when players are actually paying attention.
Plus, let’s be real: January 2025 wasn’t empty either. It just looked empty compared to the February apocalypse. And if Avowed had launched in January, maybe it would have been swallowed by the post-holiday slump, when everyone is broke and pretending to be productive. February had chaos, but it also had energy. People were talking about games. They were arguing about release dates. They were making memes about their backlogs. Avowed got to be part of that conversation.
What I Learned in 2026
Now that we’re in 2026, I can look back at February 2025 with something like affection. It was ridiculous. It was exhausting. It was also a great time to be a player, assuming you had unlimited time and no responsibilities. Avowed didn’t need to defeat Civilization 7, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, and Monster Hunter Wilds in a cage match. It just needed to stand on its own. And from where I’m sitting, it did.
Carrie Patel was right about one thing: there is never a perfect window. The modern gaming landscape is a constant avalanche. You can either hide from it or build a snowman and hope people like snowmen. Avowed chose to show up, trust its Game Pass advantage, and let word of mouth do some heavy lifting. That’s not arrogance. That’s strategy.
So if you’re a developer staring at a release calendar that looks like a monster manual, take a deep breath. You don’t need an empty month. You need a good game, a clear hook, and maybe a subscription service that lets people try it without selling a kidney. And if you’re a player? Good luck. February 2025 already happened, but the backlog never truly dies. It just waits for the next crowded month. 🎮